Mancora, Huacachina and Nasca

Hi All!

Let`s get right into the thick of things...
Mancora was a blast. We sat in the sun and dabbled in some surfing for 5 days. Stacey managed to get 2 men calling her ¨mi amor¨ without moving a muscle. The boys there seemed to hook themselves to you if you so much as smiled at them. It got fairly annoying very quickly.
I have to say that one of the guys who took a liking to Stacey was a complete creep. In South America it is polite to give a cheek to cheek greeting, but every time Stacey did this with Mr. Creep, he would turn his head and try to sneak in a lip to lip greeting. Stacey reacted by twisting her face more away. It was fairly humurous to watch, but altogether distrubing. I just glared at him, thinking that if he tried that on me he wouldn`t have such a deep voice after I was done with him. Aren`t I just a peach? Then there was the time where we were on the beach and he came up while Stacey was dozing. They did the whole awkward head twisting away from nasty lips greeting, and then Stacey went back to sleeping. A normal person would take this as a hint and leave, but Mr. Creep just sat there for over half an hour and watched her sleep. OH MY CREEP! Needless to say we did our best to avoid him after that, which is a fairly difficult task considering Mancora is made up of one road. The rest of our time in Mancora was much more pleasant, and we both left with more colour on our faces and our packs full of sand.
After a 16 hour overnight bus ride to Lima sitting across from the loudest snorer I have ever born witness to, and another 5 hour bus ride, we arrived in the city of Ica. After paying 15 soles each for a lunch that should have been 5 soles each, we grumpily caught a cab to the little oasis that is Huacachina. Sand dunes rise up proudly around the little resort town, blocking out the loud, dirty noises that all large cities seem to produce. We spent 2 full days lounging by our hotel pool, and exploring the sand dunes (which are immensely difficult to walk up by the way, but a blast to run down!). We also visited a winery and had a free tour of the facilities, while being enlightened on how wine is made. Then at the end we got to do some wine tasting. I know there is supposed to be some proper technique to it all, but Stace and I just sniffed and sipped, trying not to look too clueless.
We also tried sandboarding, which was a huge letdown for us. We rented to most godawful boards. They were basically just long hungs of wood with velcro strips to strap your feet into. We were so excited to zoom down the hill, but when we tilted our boards downhill nothing happened. After a few side shuffles, the boards slid a few feet and then stopped. ¨whooo hooo....¨ was our response. Apparently you need copious amounts of wax for anything to happen..something we were not told until afterwards. Oh well, at least we can say we tried.
This morning we left Huacachina and took a 2 hour bus to Nasca, a city famous for the Nasca Lines. These are huge animal and trapezoid shapes drawn in the earth on the Pampa in Peru that are only truly appreciated from the air. I booked my ticket in Huacachina, while Stacey decided to save her money for her travels. The ticket included a very interesting movie on the lines, as well as a day at the hotel across the street from the airport, which was handy for Stacey. So after we stored our bags, I raced off to catch my flight and Stacey lathered up on the sun screen for a tanning session by the pool. I don`t understand how she can stand the heat, she`s like our Mum!
It was an incredible experience being up in a little 4 person plane and seeing these formations with my own eyes. They were much smaller than I pictured in my mind`s eye, but just as marvelous. Unfortunately, the lady in the seat beside me was unable to enjoy these human works of art, as the bumping and jostling of the little aircraft was distracting her stomach. Everytime I glanced over, she was sitting with her eyes closed and the barf bag pressed up against her mouth. Whenever the pilot pointed out another figure, she would quickly open her eyes, point her camera in the figure`s general direction, click, and then back to the barf bag. Fortuantely the bag remained clean, that would be been just a lovely experience for us all.
So that is my update for you all. Next stop is Arequipa, which we are leaving for tonight on a night bus.
I hope everyone is smiling!
All my love,
Vikki